Nico Schulenkorf and Deborah Edwards

Building on the evidence of social impacts generated by sport events, there is a need for research to identify strategies suitable for maximizing event benefits for disparate interest communities. This paper investigates the opportunities and strategic means for sustaining and leveraging social event benefits arising from intercommunity sport events in the ethnically divided Sri Lanka. Following an interpretive mode of inquiry, findings are derived from the analysis of two focus groups and 35 in-depth interviews with Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim and international event stakeholders. To maximize event benefits, findings suggest that event organizers and host communities focus strategically on children as catalysts for change; increase ethnically mixed team sport activities; provide event-related sociocultural opportunities; combine large-scale events with regular sport-for-development programs; and engage in social, cultural, political and educational event leverage. By implementing these strategies and tactics, intercommunity sport events are likely to contribute to local capacity building and inclusive social change, which can have flow-on effects to the wider community. These findings extend the academic literature on strategic event planning, management and leverage, as they provide a focus on community event leverage for social purposes in a developing world context—an area which has thus far received limited empirical research.

E. Nicole Melton and George B. Cunningham

The purpose of this qualitative analysis was to explore the work experiences of sport employees who are LGBT, and examine how these individuals negotiate their multiple social identities in a sport context. Considering the growing interest in sport, and sport management in particular, it is important for scholars to gain of better understanding of why people choose to work in the sport industry, and understand how employee identity may influence career decisions and subsequent work experiences. Thus, the researchers only interviewed employees who did not fulfill coaching or player roles, as these individuals could potentially work in other industries. Analysis of the data revealed how working in a sport context may present sexual minorities with certain advantages, such as an opportunity to enhance self-esteem and gain social acceptance. When confronted with unjust treatment because of their sexual orientation, employees used coworker social support and social mobility techniques to cope with these negative situations. Although the employees did not always view their sexual orientation as salient to their identity, they had all disclosed their sexual orientation, to varying degrees, to others in the workplace. Finally, though the participants did not engage in social change activities, some of their supportive coworkers attempted to proactively create a more inclusive work environment. Implications of these findings are discussed and practical suggestions are provided.

Pamela Wicker and Paul Downward

the beneficiaries. For example, the policy sporting future of the United Kingdom states the following ( HM Government, 2015 , pp. 37–38): “Volunteering in sport and physical activity enriches lives, both those of the volunteers and those whose sport and physical activity is facilitated by them

Lauren E. Brown

discussion questions, case studies, and skill-based activities, available both online and in the text, aid in the integration of theory and practice. The text also specifically emphasizes practical applications, addressing the concerns of the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM), and outlines

Shushu Chen and Laura Misener

motivational factors associated with the London 2012 Olympic Games were linked (albeit weakly) to an increase in sport and physical activity participation among the participants taking part in a legacy program. Although the previous studies have provided some sporadic evidence associated with nonhost regions

Elizabeth A. Gregg

in sport and whether they are legal or ethical. The Professional Perspectives features are interviews with sport professionals that shed light on the experiences of diverse groups of people. There are also questions for discussion, learning activities, reading resources, and web resources included

Nicholas Burton and Cheri Bradish

year, the battle for hearts and minds rages on, as well. Perhaps most notable throughout has been the consistent positioning of ambush marketing by sponsorship stakeholders as predatory, parasitic, or illegitimate activity, seemingly intended to influence consumer perceptions of ambushers and to

Michael Kirkwood, Sheau-Fen Yap and Yingzi Xu

In the sporting arena, the consumption of sport is increasingly moving to the online realm. Online social networks have facilitated extensive interactions and collaborative consumption activities among like-minded fans, leading to the creation of online sport-fan communities ( Hedlund, 2014 ). In

Brian P. McCullough, Madeleine Orr and Nicholas M. Watanabe

to rise, biomes to shift geographically, and an increase in the frequency and severity of storm activity ( World Metrological Organization, 2018 ). In 2015, the Meeting of the Parties 21 (COP21), also dubbed the Paris Climate Conference, was the most recent in a series of intergovernmental meetings